Why did the risen Lord Jesus instruct his disciples to leave Jerusalem and go north to Galilee? As I worshiped in our church, the Spirit of God dropped Matthew 4:13-16 into my heart, which refers to “Galilee of the Gentiles”. It is a quote from Isaiah 9:1-2, which declares that the Messiah would minister in “Galilee of the Gentiles” because of its close proximity to foreign nations.
Two of those nations would invade it from the north. The northern kingdom of Israel would be captured by the Assyrians, who would take its people into exile and replace them with conquered people from elsewhere (who would later be known and despised as Samaritans).
The majority of our Lord’s miracles took place in Galilee — nine or ten of them in the town of Capernaum. (Countless miracles of healing took place elsewhere in Galilee, of course, which are not recorded.) “Jesus of Nazareth” was really born in Bethlehem, Judea, but when Joseph and Mary returned from Egypt and heard of King Herod’s death — and warned of the murderous plan of his successor, they turned north and settled in the village of Nazareth, far away in the hills of Galilee.
It was there that the 30-year-oldJesus began his ministry, and in so doing began to fulfill Isaiah’s prophecy: “The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death, light has dawned.”
The town of Capernaum was “exalted to heaven” — its reputation elevated through the miracles that Jesus did there after leaving the unbelieving people of Nazareth. After his resurrection, Jesus instructed his disciples to meet him in Galilee. Why did Jesus not issue the Great Commission in Jerusalem? He wanted his disciples to know that the Good News was not only for the Jews but for the whole world, which “God so loved” (John 3:16).
The disciples then returned, as directed, to Jerusalem, there to wait until they received “power from on high”. Jesus was a Jew, but most of his earthly ministry took place in “Galilee of the Gentiles”, where his miracles portrayed his future ministry, worldwide. He began doing them through the first apostles and has not ceased to do them worldwide, through those who are carrying out The Great Commission.
In breaking down “the middle wall of partition” through his death on the Cross, Jesus closed the gap between Jew and Gentile and made both into “one new man” — one which is neither Jew nor Gentile. However, during the three-and-a-half years of his earthly ministry, Jesus showed how much at home he was, even when far from the Temple, which was the heart of Jewish culture and worship.
He was at home among “those who sat in darkness” and still is among those who “sit in darkness”. Many such cities — and nations — await those whom God has called to bring them the Light of the Good News.
Is the “great light” of the Good News of the Lord Jesus Christ yet to “shine” in the “darkness” of your soul? It will in the moment you invite Jesus to save you from your sins. So why wait? Your safety is just a brief but sincere prayer away.